The present invention relates to automobile sun visors and sun glare shields and specifically to those attached to the rearview mirror. It is directed to solve the problem of unwanted glare that occurs when driving into a low sun, most particularly in the unshielded area around the rearview mirror.
Most automobiles are equipped with two sun visors that are folded up against the head liner of the vehicle when not in use. Also, for the last decade, almost all automobiles have sloping windshields to decrease wind resistance for fuel economy which most often causes the rearview mirror to be affixed to the windshield instead of the upper windshield frame. When used, the sun visors are pulled down to shield the incoming sun glare; but they are configured in such a manner not to interfere with or block the rearview mirror. When the visors are in use, the portion of the windshield surrounding the rearview mirror is not shielded and left unprotected from the glare of the sun. As a result, it is very difficult to use the rearview mirror without being blinded by the sun""s glare. This is not a new problem; in fact, U.S. Pat. No. 2,033,391 to H. E. Muench on Mar. 10, 1936 was an early attempt to reduce or eliminate the glare around the rearview mirror. Many solutions to the glare problem have been suggested that require mounting a glare shield to the existing sun visors; unfortunately they can not fully shield the space above and around the rearview mirror without interfering with it.
In the ensuing years many attempts have been made to improve upon Muench""s first solution for example: U.S. Pat. No. 2,163,495 to S. M. Levy (Jun. 20, 1939) shows two shields attached to pivot points on the rearview mirror mounting that swing down. U.S. Pat. No. 2,620,222 to M. E. Beauchamp (Dec. 2, 1952) shows a shield that clips to a bracket mounted to the upper windshield frame. U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,613 to J. V. Furando (Oct. 30, 1979) shows a glare shield that mounts to the windshield with suction cups. This shield has several marketing deficiencies: One, it is made of molded plastic of a single size which means customers would be required to possibly pay for plastic they would discard if the shield was too large. Two, its design would allow light to pass through the breakaway sections needed to fit it to the mirror. U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,917 to K. H. Marcus (Jun. 30, 1981) shows a glare shield that attaches to the head liner. U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,328 to J. J. Lehr (Feb. 27, 1996) shows a glare shield mounted by a clip attached to the windshield frame and a suction cup. All of the above solutions require some type of permanent mounting to the windshield metalwork or suction cups.
Another approach taken by others is to use the rearview mirror mounting post as the support for the glare shield. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 2,549,395 to C. A. Short Sr. (Apr. 17, 1951) shows a shield that has a slot with several mounting holes that allows it to hang on the rearview mirror mounting post. U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,879 to J. H. Gillum (Sep. 25, 1990) shows a folding shield with a mounting slot that slips over the rearview mounting post. Both of these solutions have several faults: One, they have slots in their design through which the sun can pass. Two, they are of a fixed size which precludes universality. Three, both are not firmly fixed to the mirror mounting post which would cause them to move or vibrate when the vehicle is moving. U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,927 to R. M. PreJean (Aug. 2, 1994) shows a multi-functional sun shielding and storage device that mounts by wedging the device behind the mirror or by a separate suction device. While this device would shield the space above the mirror, the varying spacing between the standard visors between different vehicles would require it either to be large enough to fit the largest possible visor spacing and be cut to fit smaller ones or not fully shield the glare. U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,523 to T. F. Keller (Nov. 19, 1996) shows a swinging shield mounted to the rearview mirror post. This device would require the driver to constantly reposition the device as the road curved or sun changes position. U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,419 to K. Lam (Sep. 22, 1998) shows a shield that is directly attached to the rearview mirror by two brackets. U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,967 to T. C. Poulson (Nov. 9, 1999) also shows a shield that is directly attached to the rearview mirror with hook and loop fasteners. This method of mounting could cause a possible conflict with the use of the sun visors. In both of these solutions we have the problem of universality in trying to fit the device to the wide variety of mirror sizes and visor spacings as well as an expensive solution.
The latest solution to the problem of unwanted glare above and around the rearview mirror is U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,294B1 issued to K. F. Kohnle and M. E. Bouches (Oct. 2, 2001). This shows a shield attached to the rearview mirror mounting post using a hook and loop fastener to secure it to the mounting post. This solution has several disadvantages: One, as most of the other solutions, it is of a fixed size; but, because the mirror and sun visor spacing varies considerably in vehicles so it may not fit well. Two, it is not securely fastened to the mounting post and would vibrate and/or rotate when the vehicle is moving. Three, its design requires more manufacturing steps and a higher material cost than the present invention. This would result in a higher selling price than the proposed solution.
A detailed examination of the patents listed above and many others reveals that although there are many solutions to shielding the glare around the rearview mirror from low sun in an automobile; a search of automobile parts dealers revealed that none of the above solutions is currently being marketed. The only glare shield found that specifically addressed the glare around the rearview mirror was a suction cup mounted plastic device of a fixed size is being sold as SUNOUT.RTM and marketed through the Walter Drake catalog. A local auto parts dealer was selling a device called a BLUE STOPPER.RTM manufactured by Cobbs Mfg. in Iowa which is a also a sheet of plastic with a suction cup mounting that could be positioned anywhere on the windshield.
All past solutions appear to have some significant problems in marketing them to the public: One, is that the design of many would make the final product too costly. Two, many require special mounting to make them effective which would discourage the average customer. Three, most appear to be of a fixed size which would preclude maximum shielding given the wide variety sun visor spacings and rearview mirror mounting positions. And lastly, many are not securely mounted enabling them to move or vibrate when the vehicle is moving.
Unwanted sun glare is quite often a driving annoyance which is easily forgotten so the average driver is probably not going to invest a large amount of effort and expense on solving the problem. Thus, the objectives of the present invention are to overcome the deficiencies of the previous solutions and provide a glare shield that is flexible in terms of mounting, adjustable in size to fit various vehicles, easy to manufacture, simple to install, securely mounted, and can be sold at a very competitive price.
Therefore, the first objective of this invention is to provide a shield that will work with the existing sun visors with no modifications to the visors, the rearview mirrors or the inside of the vehicle. Many of the prior art solutions require the installation of brackets to the windshield frame or to the mirror to make the shielding device work. This alone would frighten off most customers
Another, objective is to provide a method of mounting that is quick and reliable to prevent slippage of the shield while the vehicle is moving. Some prior art solutions use suction cups or adhesive to fix the shield in place. Low sun is most prevalent in the winter months and ensuring that a suction cup or removable adhesive will stay in place on a cold windshield is always a problem. Quick and easy dismounting of the shield when it is not required is another requirement as is easy stowage in the vehicle.
Because many of the prior art solutions would require the use of expensive materials which would raise the cost of the device; it is also the object of this invention to provide a glare shield that is made of a low cost material. The preferred embodiment would use a material, such as chipboard or some other fiber board, that may be easily cut along weakened areas and allow punch-out sections to be easily removed for mounting. This allows the glare shield to be conveniently tailored to specific vehicle visor and mirror spacing to maximize the shielding. This overcomes another of the prior art disadvantages, the ability to configure a glare shield to any vehicle as most of the prior art solutions indicate a shield of a fixed size.
While the preferred embodiment would use a fiberboard material for the shielding panels because of lower cost and ease of cutting to specifically configure the shield to a vehicle, other materials such opaque plastic sheet, thin metal or even translucent plastic could be used. Use of these materials would require creating expensive manufacturing tooling designed to fit a specific vehicle as they could not be easily cut by the customer and therefore would increase the cost of the shield. This also means that a xe2x80x9cone size fits allxe2x80x9d approach could not be used with these material.
The preferred embodiment of the glare shield consists of two specially shaped planar panels having curved registration sections and bosses on the bottom edge held together with a keyhole shaped plastic or metal keeper mounted on the bottom edge which engages the bosses on the bottom of each panel. The keeper allows the two panels to slide together in a tight friction fit to grip the rearview mirror mounting post to hold the shield in place. The curved registration sections allow the two panels of the shield to be opened for ease of fitting and mounting. The panels have a series of preformed alignment holes with connecting punch-out sections to fit the shield to the rearview mounting post of the vast majority of vehicles. The holes are sized to fit the narrow section of a typical rearview mirror mounting post where it engages the windshield mount. The punch-out sections, when removed, create a channel which allows the two panels to slide together and grip the rearview mirror mounting post. Panels have additional weakened breakaway portions in the horizonal and vertical planes to allow for correct horizonal and vertical shield spacing for maximum shielding between the vehicle""s existing sun visors. The horizonal weakened sections could be specifically fit so the upper edge of the glare shield would fit into the normal space or gap between the head liner and the windshield frame for a even more secure mounting.